The British Museum presents a major exhibition on the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum which includes staggering survivals of the 2,000 year-old volcanic disaster in Pompeii among its 250 objects. http://www.britishmuseum.org/

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From the Telegraph: "Again and again, as you walk around Pompeii – and as you walk around the British Museum show – you will be reminded of the Roman contribution to modern civilisation, as Monty Python pointed out in their blessed sketch: "Apart from better sanitation and medicine and education and irrigation and public health and roads and a freshwater system and baths and public order, what have the Romans done for us?""

Photographers Aldo and Mariosa Ballo: In the second half of the 20th century, Italian design attained worldwide recognition. The Milanese photographers Aldo Ballo and Marirosa Toscani Ballo played a considerable part in this success. By communicating the beauty and function of objects as well as their cultural meaning, the Ballos’ photographs contributed significantly to the mythological status that surrounds Italian design even today. http://www.bellevuearts.org/Former American Folk Art Museum Building to be Demolished

Built on West 53rd St. in Manhattan in 2001, the American Folk Art Museum's former home was designed by Tod Williams and Billie Tsien and once deemed "a Midtown icon" by the New York Times. It was a symbol of hope and patriotism after the 9/11 attacks. When the museum fell on hard times, it sold the building to the adjacent MoMA.Now MoMA plans to demolish the building to make room for an expansion which will connect to an 82-story tower.MoMA says the solid look of the folk museum building does not fit with their transparent aesthetic and the floors wouldn't match up between the two buildings.“It’s very rare that a building that recent comes down, especially a building that was such a major design and that got so much publicity when it opened for its design — mostly very positive,” said Andrew S. Dolkart, the director of Columbia University’s historic preservation program to the Times.The folk museum was forced to sell the building to pay back a $32 million loan to build the museum. When the funds were not raised, MoMA stepped up to buy their building and the folk museum moved to smaller quarters in Lincoln Square.http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/11/arts/design/moma-to-raze-ex-american-folk-art-museum-building.html?_r=2&hp=&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1365685733-NnX9sEb38kxet6Fydb49Lw&